Change atop the Mariners lineup tonight

The Seattle Mariners made a change atop their lineup for their game with the San Francisco Giants, but it didn't involve Ichiro Suzuki.

Instead, Dustin Ackley was dropped from second to seventh in the batting order, and newly returned Franklin Gutierrez - in his second game of the season - will bat behind Ichiro.

The move makes sense because Ackley has struggled much of the season batting second and is hitting just .243 overall, while Gutierrez if healthy would have started the year batting second. Still an issue, however, is whether Ackley is better suited to leading off.

Ichiro, a year after batting .271, is now hitting .263. Sooner or later, Ichiro as leadoff hitter may prove no better a situation that Ichiro the No. 3 hitter.

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About Bob Dutton

Bob Dutton joined The News Tribune in 2013 after more than 25 years at the Kansas City Star, including the last 13 covering baseball and the Royals. He was the president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 2008 and serves on the committee that nominates players to the Hall of Fame.